Strengthening Resilience of Education in Ethiopia/Education Cannot Wait

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

In Ethiopia, long-term man-made and natural disasters, as well as climate change, have caused internal displacement that has driven more than 2 million people from their homes. Although the positive political changes followed in 2018 have been significant, in 2019-2021 the old conflicts have deepened and new ones have emerged. In 2021, conflict-affected children in need of education has further increased. As a result of the crises that erupted in Tigray state in November 2020 and the school closures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, an estimated 1.3 million children are out of school. Of these, an estimated 85,000 are refugee children. The Education Cannot Wait (ECW) Fund’s “Increasing Access to Protective, Inclusive Learning Opportunities for Crisis-Affected Children in the Tigray Region” project is part of ECW’s broader Ethiopian program to address Tigray’s acute crisis. At country level, the project will be implemented by UNICEF's Ethiopian Country Office and its implementing organizations. The long-term outcome of the Tigray project is to improve learning through equitable access to relevant, crisis-sensitive and quality education for emergency-affected children in Ethiopia. Immediate outcomes are; 1) Equitable access to safe, protective, and conducive pre-primary and primary learning environments for emergency-affected girls, boys, including children with disabilities is increased, maintaining nexus between education in emergencies and education sector development in Tigray region; 2) Quality and relevance of education for emergency-affected girls, boys, including children with disabilities is enhanced; 3) Retention and transition for emergency-affected girls, boys, including children with disabilities is improved; and 4) Capacity of education institutions and communities to provide crisis-sensitive education for emergency-affected girls, boys, including children with disabilities is strengthened. Finland supports the project with 2 million euros. Additional funding of 3 million euros as humanitarian aid has been granted for 2023.